What is IN Anymore?
by Piper-Knight
Summary: What is IN Anymore? Is it being pretty? Popular? Skinny? Tall? Athletic? No one knows. All we know is that there's always someone on top and some one on bottom. Sakura Haruno, she thought she was the bottom. Until she met Pein and the Akatsuki. OneShot


**Piper: **HIYA! This is a one-shot Valentines Day present for all the nice reviewers of my story 'Wilted Rose'

I don't own Naruto.

**WARNINGS: Cussing**

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What is -IN- Anymore?

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They sneer and snicker as the timid pinkette weaved through out the hall way, hunched over shyly to hide her self from their glares. They were so cruel to her, and for such a painful reason. The poor little pink headed girl didn't know what to do with herself any more. Everyone was either being cruel to her or ignoring her in fear of having their popularity stripped from their possession. The reason for their cruelty wasn't even the poor girl's fault, and she had no way to stop it from ever happening.

Sixteen year old Sakura Haruno was the schools emo kid ever since she could remember. Sakura could never understand what the purpose of "emo" was. Was it a label? Yes, yes it was. Sakura didn't want to be labeled. She wanted to be herself, and if being herself meant painting her nails black and wearing dark colors, then god damn it she would. At least...that's how she used to feel. Back then Sakura had confidence. She had a friend, Ino, who was quite the prep, and a boy friend, Sasuke, who claimed her very much. Lies.

One Sakura's fifteenth birthday, Ino and Sasuke were caught in a compromising position on Sakura's bed during her own birthday party. Sakura yelled, screamed, and cried that day, but no one else really felt sympathy for the pinkette. They only became her friend because of Ino, and now that was over so they didn't have to pretend any longer.

"Hey, forehead," A smooth, bell like voice purred, making the pinkette falter in her steps for only a moment, before she pushed on.

Sakura heard the quick slap of high heels against the linoleum floors, easily catching up to her. A manicured claw sunk its sharp ends into her collar, making her gasp softly in pain.

"We're talking to you!" The smooth voice turn to a screech of anger, the manicured claws digging into the soft joint of her collar bone, surely making the wounds bleed.

Everyone else in the halls were watching expectantly, knowing what was to come.

The pinkette barely took a glance over her shoulder, asking in a small voice, "What do you want, Ino?"

Platinum blonde hair flew gracefully through the air as Ino Yamanaka, head cheer leader and school bitch, flipped the shiny locks over her shoulder. Ino blew a giant bubble of gum, letting it snap loudly before she said in a sneer, "Where's my homework, forehead?"

Emerald eyes glanced over the porcelain shoulder, locking with azure colored orbs glaring down at her, "I...didn't do it."

Disbelief shone in the blue orbs of the platinum haired predator, her jaw slanting slightly, "Didn't you learn last time?!" Ino shrieked, digging her perfectly manicured nails into Sakura's shoulders painfully.

A gasp of pain and shock escaped the paling lips of the pink haired girl, her books and things now dropping from her arms and onto the dirty floors with a loud bang. The girl's knees bent, trying to unbury the nails digging into her pale shoulder.

Ino continued digging her nails in until Sakura was down on her knees with tears in her beautiful emerald eyes. When Ino looked at Sakura, she felt a wave of jealousy swell in her chest. She had always been jealous of Sakura's natural beauty, and that was why she had to ruin her. If Sakura could look pretty without makeup, then Ino would have to ruin the pretty little face and make it the most repulsive thing anyone had ever seen.

_SMACK!_

Pink locks followed in a soft wave as Sakura's head snapped to the side, her face red and bloodied from the smack and Ino's perfectly manicured nails. Breathing deeply, Sakura timidly reached up, touching her bleeding face. When she felt the red liquid on her finger tips she pulled her hand away to inspect it, her eyes widening when she saw the crimson staining her porcelain fingers.

"Bitch!" Ino snarled, "I had that test paper due today! I'm going to fail because of you, ugly!"

Sakura felt the front of her black tank top being pulled upward forcefully, and she looked up to meet the sneering face of Karin, Ino's "best friend". Karin spat into her face, "Good going, fuck up!"

Why wouldn't any one help her? Sakura wondered, tears swelling in her emerald eyes. No one ever helped...

Ino drew her hand back into a fist, and brought it down fast.

But...It was caught.

"Huh?" Ino looked up, and her eyes widened.

A boy stood over Sakura's crumpled figure, his hand tightening over Ino's hand. His skin was milky pale and his body was built sturdily. It wasn't all muscle, but a nice stature. He stood at an intimidating 6"2, towering over the small form of the Yamanaka girl. His hair was in messy fashion, the color a bright orange that stood out against his pale skin. His eyes were a deep golden orange that seemed to stare into your soul, freezing you on the spot. But, none of those things stood out about him. What stood out was his multiple piercings. He hand snake bites, three piercings on each side of his nose, one eyebrow pierced, the whole bridge and cartilage of his ear pierced, and giant bar was vertically put through his ear.

"Remove your self from my sight...before I get angry," the boy said in a velvet voice, and as he spoke there was a shine that came from his mouth, the lights from above flashing over his silver tongue piercing.

Ino trembled at the sound of his voice. It was like music to her ears, and just the sound of it made her toes curl. She wanted him and him alone. His exotic appearance and dark clothing drew her in like-...dark...clothing?

It was true. He wore a pair of baggy pitch black jeans that were held up by a black leather belt. His shoes where flat, black combat boots hidden by the torn edges of his jeans. He wore a fishnet shirt covered by a crimson tank top and a black jacket, the sleeves rolled up to above the elbows to reveal milky arms, molded perfectly to show the contrast of his muscles with his movements.

"Wh-Who are you?" Karin asked, the first to rein in her surprise.

Sakura also wanted to know. Who was this dark clad stranger who had so boldly stopped her daily beating? Why did he do it?

His eyes flickered towards her, "None of your business."

Then his eyes flickered down to the fallen pinkette trembling next to his form, and he took in her appearance with great pleasure.

Her skin was just as pale as his, maybe even paler. Her form was small with just the right amount of curve, but not the over exaggerated curve of the hips. She looked so small and fragile, but there was something about her that told him that she wasn't always this way. Someone _forced_ her this way. She looked up at him from beneath thick, black lashes. Once past the beautiful lashes emerald orbs were revealed, staring up at him in confusion. Petal pink hair went to just below her shoulders in choppy layers, her bangs coming from the left side of her face to the right, covering her right eye slightly. The tip of her crooked bangs was dyed black, and he liked it. She had her ears pierced twice in the cartilage, three times around the top, and a small stud shining slightly from the right side of her nose. Much to his delight, she was dressed in black.

The girl wore a black spaghetti strap tank top covered by a blood red jacket, unzipped, and had the sleeves rolled up slightly above her elbows. Bandages covered her bare arms from the wrists, into the arms of the jacket. She wore baggy black jeans held up by a white belt, the tips of her white skater shoes peaking out from her jeans slightly. She wore a black choker collar around her neck, a small charm of a black heart lined silver dangling on her neck.

What angered him, was the three line marring her face. They were light, and would heal without a scar, but it angered him to no end. Who had the right to touch this beautiful creature?

"Leave," He snarled, his head snapping up to look at Ino and Karin, "Now!"

Everyone cleared away, scurrying around fast. No one wanted to mess with the mysterious stranger. They quickly ran to what class they were supposed to be located, evacuating the halls as fast as they could. As soon as every last pest was out of sight, the stranger knelt down. He examined Sakura, their eyes staying trained on each other with out a single break.

Sakura's lower lip gave a tremble and the tears were let loose. A small sob escaped her lips, and she felt her self pulled into the man's arms. She held onto him as if her life depended on it, crying her eyes out.

The man let her cry until all was left was the small trembles of her body, shaking him slightly.

"Why?" She sniffed, pulling back and looking at him, "Why are you being so nice?"

He didn't answer, standing up. He held his hand out to her, looking at her expectantly.

She trusted him. She didn't know why, but she did. It was weird, feeling the ability to trust again. After finding out about Ino and Sasuke she just didn't know if she could trust anyone but herself, but...she trusted him somehow.

Reaching up, Sakura took his hand, asking softly, "What's your name?"

"Pein," He answered, keeping a gentle hold on her hand as he led her down the hallway to some unknown destination.

Pein. It was a different name, but Sakura liked it all the same. It was unique; something you didn't really know existed or would find any where else. Sakura liked it.

"I'm Sakura," She introduced, watching as Pein's eyes slide to side to look at her whilst she talked. He listened to her, and he showed it attentively. It was a knew thing for Sakura also, seeing as no one around Konoha High listened to what she had to say anyway. They would rather speak then be spoken to.

They lapsed into a silence, Pein leading them through many hallways Sakura didn't recognize. The unfamiliar surroundings didn't upset her or make her suspicious of Pein, like she should be. She should be trying to pull away from his grasp and get to her History class, but she didn't. It seemed like a fruitless effort any way, seeing as his grip looked as if it could get tighter then the gentle way he seemed to be caressing her hand.

Finally, they reached a door with a vague sign on it that read: _No Entry._

Pein reached forward, turning the knob without any consent of the sign, revealing a metal stairs case leading upwards. He began to descend up the stairs, still leading Sakura by her hand.

_'Where are we going?'_Sakura wondered, her eyes looking around the darkened stairwell curiously. It didn't' scare her, though. Sakura liked the dark.

The stairs almost seemed endless, and Sakura was starting to get tired. Her shoulders hunched slightly, and she switched to breathing silently out of her nose, hoping Pein wouldn't notice and think of her as weak for not even being able to climb a stupid set of stairs. Sakura almost want to cry in embarrassment went she accidentally let out a pant of air, alerting Pein.

Pein turned around, raising an eyebrow at the tired pinkette. He knew these stairs were hard climb. He himself took a while getting used to climbing them so often, but now it hardly affected him. He should've remembered that Sakura wasn't used to it.

"Here," Pein said lowly, kneeling down, "Get on my back," He all but ordered; looking at the tired girl with the slightest, _slightest_, hint of worry in his eyes. Pein didn't show emotion much, enough said.

Sakura looked at him curiously, but didn't get on his back. She was to fat, or at least that's what she though. She wouldn't want to weigh him down as well. When she voiced this Pein snorted something akin to a laugh and pulled her forcefully onto his back, saying in a slightly annoyed tone, "Fat? You're skinnier then the anorexic blond I yelled at earlier. Konan will fix that, though..." Pein mumbled the last part to himself, but Sakura heard. She wondered who Konan was.

Finally, a door came into view a dozen steps up. Pein easily defeated the last few steps before setting Sakura down on her feet, turning the knob side ways. The door opened with a click and Pein led Sakura out, into the sunlight.

They were on the roof, one of the most forbidden places of the school. Why? There was no fencing or anything around the sides of the roof, and nothing could keep a student from falling. But, the breeze felt nice in the thick, humid Konoha air. Konoha was almost constantly hot, and not much a breeze blew through the school. Here on top, though, you could feel a nice, cooling breeze.

Sakura felt Pein slip his hand into hers again, and he began leading her across the roof, past a janitors shed. Just around the corner, there was a group of teenagers. One girl, eight guys. The girl had milky pale skin and bright blue hair and eyes to match. One of the guys had long black hair tied into a low pony tail, his eyes a deep navy blue. One boy had blue skin and navy blue hair put into spikes, and with his golden eyes he seemed to pierce you with his gaze. One boy had tan skin with stitch like patterns on his skin, his hair long and black. One boy had snowy pale skin and bright violet eyes, his silver hair slicked back. One boy was completely split in half, one side of him pitch black and the other white, with golden eyes and forest green hair. One boy was wearing an orange mask with one eye hole, but he had spiky black hair coming from the back of his head. One boy had long blond hair that was partly put into a pony tail, his bangs covering one of his bright blue eyes. The last guy had messy red hair and brownish eyes.

"Pein?" The girl asked, "Who's this?"

Pein looked at Sakura, nudging her forward slightly, "This is Sakura. Sakura, this is Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, Tobi, Deidara, and Sasori."

Sakura looked up at them timidly through her bangs, shifting from foot to foot. However, when Konan saw the blood and scratches upon her cheek she shot up, "Are you okay?" She asked, taking Sakura's chin in her hand to hold her cheek to the light, "Who did this to you?" She asked, concern lacing in her tone.

"Who do you think?" Pein asked, glaring at Deidara slightly, "That one's little bitch of a sister."

Deidara scoffed, "Sister, yeah? Far from it."

Konan looked at Sakura softly, "Why don't we get you cleaned up?"

Sakura merely followed Konan over the group, watching as Konan rifled through a duffle bag filled to the brim with items. They looked more like prank items to Sakura, but was mildly surprised when Konan pulled a first aid kit from the bag. She sat Sakura down and began to treat her cheek carefully.

Pein sat down on the ground next to Konan and Sakura, watching Konan's movements carefully.

"So, kid, what's your fucking story?" Hidan asked, looking at her with a bored expression.

Sakura looked down, but kept her head level so that she didn't bother Konan, "I...don't have one...I'm just...here. I guess..."

Hidan scoffed, "If you're fucking here because Pein brought you, then you have a fucking story. So spill."

"Hidan," Pein interrupted, looking at Hidan with hard eyes, "Drop it."

Konan smiled, stepping back to look at her work, "There!"

Sakura felt her face, feeling a patch of bandage covering her scratches. She looked at Konan shyly, "Thanks..."

The faint sound of a bell made them all freeze for a second. It was the lunch bell.

"Damn," Hidan groaned, standing up and stretching his stiff muscles, "Time for food."

When they started walking, they noticed something missing.

Pein looked over his shoulder, as did the rest of his group, seeing the pinkette standing where was before, not moving a bit. She looked like she wasn't going to even budge, "Are you coming?" He asked.

Sakura looked up, "Huh?"

"Aren't you going to eat with us?" Konan asked, slightly sad.

"I...Yeah...I think I will," Sakura said, smiling lightly, jogging forward to catch up with them.

Pein casually draped his arm over the pinkette's shoulders, pulling her closer. Sakura, however, didn't feel uncomfortable. Shocked, yes. But...she liked the contact. It made her feel....safe.

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Pein's group was quite the bunch. During lunch, any person that glared at Sakura officially got cussed out by the ever so foul mouth Hidan, and glared at right back form the rest of the group. Sakura didn't know why they were doing this for her, but....their actions made her feel safe and not alone any longer. It was like...she had friends.

"Of course we're friends," Konan said when Sakura had voiced that, "We always protect our friends. Our _family_."

Sakura looked around their lunch table timidly, only to see welcoming faces in many different ways of the word. Smirks and smiles were passed all around the table, their eyes telling her of their acceptance over her presence, "Family..."

"Of course, yeah. Any enemy of my bitchy sister is a friend of ours," Deidara replied before taking a drink of his pop.

Sakura felt the slightly familiar pressure of Pein's arms across her shoulders, and looked up at him curiously. Pein smirked slightly, before declaring, "You thought you were alone, the only one?"

Nodding, sheepishly, Sakura looked down at her untouched food.

"You see all those girls?" Konan asked, nodding towards all the preppy girls squealing around and cooing over every hot guy that passed.

Sakura nodded distastefully, not really wanting to look over there.

"They think their the cool ones, their what everyone wants to by. They think that they're what's _in_, but their not. If you look closely, you can tell that lots of people hate them," Konan said.

Sakura looked closely around at her peers for the first time, finder herself surprised to distinct most groups from the preps and what not. It was refreshing, knowing she wasn't the only one that hated Ino. But why hadn't any of them really helped her when she was getting beaten up or called names?

"All of those groups. They think they're the shit, that they're on top," Konan said, "That's why they don't like each other. Because they all think each group is below theirs."

"They think their _in_?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows lowering slightly, "What is _in_ anymore?" She asked allowed.

Konan shrugged, "Apparently. It's what ever the hell you want it to be as long as you feel that you belong."

Sakura looked around the table, before smiling.

She felt like she belonged.

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**Piper: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY YOU GUYS! :3**


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